In my last blog I outlined four battlegrounds confronting Western societies that I believe the Church should address. As the Church it’s our role to be a prophetic demonstration of God’s Kingdom in the midst of change, uncertainty and adversity. And as I’ve previously stated, “the church was born in a crisis and achieved some of its greatest exploits, in and through crisis.” Now is the time for more great exploits!

In this blog I want to give a brief overview of the first of these battlegrounds. It’s the one dealing with economics.

The Battle for a new economics: this has resulted because of the avarice and materialistic nature of Western societies, established and maintained around consumption based economics, unbridled affluence, and expansionist philosophies.

My general comments are:

• Western bankruptcy is consuming the prosperity of future generations through limited planning and sowing for their future viability and success. In fact they are pillaging their future. There appears to be little or no regard for provisioning towards future generations, or in providing a storehouse of material wealth and financial security today for the times ahead. Deuteronomy 28:8, speaks about the Lord blessing a nations storehouse and turning their situation from defensive to offensive financially. Where are our Western nations ‘storehouses’ for future generations? Will Islamic states have the only large deposits of sovereign funds under management in future years?

• Over the past few years we have witnessed an economic meltdown globally: by the end of this decade, it’s highly likely that the United States Dollar may not be the preferred global currency. Many of us are aware that Islam has a strategy to hasten its demise seeking to replace it with one they have greater control over. Internationally we are witnessing the demise of one of man’s modern attempts in building financial unity and mutual cooperation. Instead of the dream being fulfilled, we see it unravelling all across Europe – the never-ending Euro crisis.

• The Book of Revelation does suggest – there is a city that rules: of the kings of the earth, a Babylon coming up from the earth, where earthly kings and kingdoms become mere puppets within its structures and systems. Now my question is this, do we really need more revelation, prophetic illustrations and examples concerning this reality the Bible so clearly articulates? Are we not seeing it gaining a foothold already in the earth? From my reading of the book of Revelation it is abundantly clear to me the reality of its intended purpose.

• On the other hand the Bible does have some clear input regarding a society’s economic wellbeing regarding individual and national economic growth and development. In the Old Testament we get an insight into this in the way Israel was historically governed. At the heart of securing a viable economic future and developing society as a whole, we see how growth was limited or managed by a number of key sabbatical principles. Now my question to us in the West is, are there real-life transferable principles and relevant models of economic growth and sustainability hidden within them that we should consider?

I will look at the second battleground: the social disintegration (the loss of real community) within society and the decreasing influence of an authentic spiritual and moral compass to guide it, in my next blog.

I’m soon to enter the region of North Africa and won’t be writing another blog until late April.